European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Invisible servants electronic brains staff intelligent House a toilet that measures blood pres Sun part of the tron House a Japan experimental Home where Hundred electronic brains work Togo like a Squadron of invisible servants. By Teresa Watanabe los Angeles times tucked away in one of Tokyo s most fashionable neighbourhoods a House thinks senses and acts on its own. It can Tell when to snap on the lights by sensing your body heat. It knows when to open the windows air condition the room and water the plants. It will flush the toilet flip on the faucet and air dry your hands All without human help. If the phone rings it mutes the stereo. If you want to Cook a French meal it will set the Correct oven temperature after presenting a recipe and How to video on a Kitchen Monitor. The Jet sons have not come to Japan. This is the tron House a fully intelligent Home where hundreds of electronic brains work together like a Squadron of invisible servants. The $6.7 million experimental Home is the showpiece for a far ranging project Between japanese Industry and Academia. It Aims ultimately to link millions of microprocessors in consumer appliances business machines Industrial systems and telecommunications networks in one giant cooperative web. To Many japanese the tron House offers an intriguing glimpse at what the nation can produce when it combines a creative vision with its technological strengths and love of practical gadgetry. Tron or a the real time operating system nucleus Quot also represents Japan a first creative breakaway from the dominant standards of . Companies such As International business machines corp. And Intel corp. Japanese electronics companies have generally incorporated those . Standards in their machines a paying fees for the privilege a but they Are aiming to develop their own Independent standards for software and computer chips through tron. Quot Japan s computer Industry has been copying the . For Over 40 years. Just copying. No original creations Quot said Kazuhiko Nishi founder of one of Japan a largest software companies Asci inc. Quot tron is the first to be . But the tron project also illustrates the controversy that Japan May face As it strives to develop its own technologies through More creative science and engineering. Aside from the question of whether anyone would want to live in such a House a it brings to mind Charlie Chaplin s modern times a some americans Are suspicious of tron for reasons that go beyond lifestyle. They see it As an ominous japanese attempt to end . Dominance in 32-bit microprocessors which Are the computer s brains and in operating systems the set of instructions that Tell the software How to behave. A the japanese Don t want to say it but they were hoping to displace Intel and Motorola for 32-bit microprocessors Quot said Sheridan Tatsuno head of Neo concepts a High tech research firm in Fremont Calif. He added that Hitachi Fujitsu and Mitsubishi electric were each devoting 100 researchers to developing computer chips based on tron specifications another . Concern is that the tron standards will compete with unix or is Dos two . Operating systems that dominate today a Quot open architecture Quot standards. Currently the world computer Industry is trying to create Universal standards for computers thereby solving the major problem of incompatibility Between systems. Tron s creator University of Tokyo professor Ken Sakamura has challenged japanese computer giants to Champion their own Standard rather than passively follow . Designs. Quot Japan is an economic superpower and must act the part. A heavyweight contender must be prepared to slug it out for the title Quot Sakamura wrote last july in a japanese newspaper. To make matters worse the . Trade representatives office in Tokyo has singled out tron As a potential Market Barrier. . Trade officials feared that the japanese ministry of education would require 700,000 school computers to be based on tron specifications which would favor japanese manufacturers rather than general criteria that More foreign bidders could meet. Another concern was that Nippon Telegraph amp Telephone would likewise require tron specifications for its operating system. Only a few . Companies such As ism and word Star of Novato Calif., have developed hardware and software based on tron standards. As a result some americans fear that tron is a japanese ploy to use Domestic standards to limit foreign Competition which has occurred in the past on . Products ranging from baseball bats to skiing equipment. The . Software Industry group Adaso concluded in a 1989 report on japanese software that tron had Quot Strong undertones of nationalism and will have the practical effect of impeding foreign penetration of the japanese  but Sakamura said that his project has been widely misunderstood. Quot tron is not a plot to conquer the world Quot he said during a speech in Tokyo last year. A in the current climate of Trade friction anything new and japanese is immediately considered an economic threat by people in other  Sakamura described his creation As the world s first total computer architecture a that is the first integrated system of hardware and software capable of linking millions of computers in everything from Rice cookers to satellite systems although smart houses and other Quot intelligent Quot products exist in the United states and elsewhere Sakamura s project is distinguished by its extensive scope. The Tokyo professor of information science said a single tron Standard would unify the worlds computer Market giving Western firms an equal Chance to compete in Japan. All of the hardware and software blueprints Are a publicly available for the Cost of membership in the tron Assn. Annual fees Range from about $23,000 a year Down to $4,600. Among tron s 147 members 17 Are foreign including Motorola Intel ism Apple computer and Texas instruments. Quot its a competitive system yeah but we be never been against Competition Quot said ism spokesman Mac Jeffery. Quot we got involved because we saw the possibility that there would be a Market for tron products and we Page 14 the stars and stripes monday Dlo be part of  unlike the general observer status by other foreign firms ism submitted a prototype tation for the school computers project and is also Pating in a communications system Amura also claimed that the system which rates automatic translation capabilities would Lay Oun Dwork for unprecedented global communication Lead of just paying attention to supercomputers or Jal intelligence which Are popular topics i wanted a that deals with the computerization of society  Sakamura said in an interview bile computer technology is being applied in More Ore areas of our lives and household facilities and ones Are becoming Ever More sophisticated Many e feel utterly bewildered by the rapid Pace and sing complexity of technological Progress Quot he said Twe need is not a random collection of gadgets but system anyone can  japanese computer users switch to the tron a a it could mean big losses for american a it tors. But few envision that scenario. Tatsuno r 22,1990 predicted that it will be Quot almost impossible Quot for tron to Knock out unix or is Dos As a Standard operating system in the business machines Market. He speculated however that it would make its Mark in Home electronics and automobiles because the japanese dominate both markets. Microsoft is confident it can retain its 65 percent Market share of pc operating systems in Japan said Ron Hosogi a company director. Other americans flatly predict that tron will Flop in the Market. A the tron House looks to me like an electronic Whiz kid s dream. It s like the 1938 worlds fair vision of the future Quot said Gib Hoxie a senior consultant with the los Angeles office of Arthur d. Little a technology consulting  said that Consumers Are already disgruntled with digital videocassette recorders and microwave ovens. They find dials easier to use and Are moving toward them Sudin Quot tron Isnit addressing that at All. They say a let s pull All of this together in a Universal digital interface that s a Nightmare to me. It Means i can to run anything in my House Quot Hoxie said. After some research last All he concluded that tron Quot would be of no lasting significance Quot in the computer Market and he no longer follows it closely. International controversies aside the tron House has been a big hit since opening in december. On one drizzly Day about a dozen people gawked their Way through the tour shaking their Heads and smiling Over the House s endless surprises. Take the toilet. It measures your blood pressure and analyses your urine. Then it records the information in your computerized medical records. How about the Rool weather sensors constantly measure the outdoor temperature humidity air pressure wind velocity wind direction rain and Light. Then the system opens the windows to pleasant breezes or closes them and turns on the air conditioning. In All the House uses 1,000 microprocessors. There Are 20 telephones including a Waterproof phone for the bathroom and a Quot no Contact Quot phone in the toilet. The Home computer features an innovative keyboard conforming to the human hand to avoid Strain. And in what the brochure Bills As an Quot audiophile s dream Quot every room boasts speakers and switches that can change the music from stereo sound to amplified music mimicking a concert Hall. Built in collaboration with 18 companies such As Nippon Homes and Mitsubishi electric the Home is stunningly designed in natural materials Blond japanese Oak Tatami Straw Mats Rice paper screens Marble and Stone. A traditional japanese Tatami sitting room contrasts with a High tech Kitchen floored in Marble. Sakamura meanwhile is hard at work on an intelligent car an intelligent City and a 12-Story, $35 million intelligent office incorporating More than 10,000 microcomputers set to open next year. Quot what motivates me is the Delight i feel in creating new things and the sense of wonder which i feel when i see something new or something wonderful Quot Sakamura said. Quot in the end the results of the current tron activities will be accepted. I am quite sure of  the stars and stripes a a a Page 15